Everyone experiences jitters or butterflies or anxiety (of whatever you call it) before, during and even after making a speech or presentation. This includes pros as well. After all, we’re only human and every now and then, we get afraid of what might happen once on stage. Those who seem very confident on stage appear so because they have already mastered the art of banishing jitters before and during a speech. You can also accomplish this by doing the following tips:

Be in the room at least an hour early if possible to check everything. Chat with people.

Notice and think about things around you.

Think about current events you can mention in your talk (especially in the opening).

Get into conversation with people near you. Be very intent on what they are saying.

Yawn to relax your throat.

Doodle.

To see the complete list on how you can calm your nerves during your speech, please head to the following link:

I’m sure you’ve attended presentations in the past where the speaker has gone overboard the allotted time frame. Wasn’t it annoying or did you enjoying staying there and waiting for the talk to finish? Just imagine what your audience would feel like if you are the one presenting and you didn’t start and finish on time. To avoid this scenario, just follow these five (5) tips:

#1 — Know Your Allowed Time – talk with the organizer of the event and ask them specifically how much time you have on stage for your talk or presentation. Then budget accordingly.

#2 — Plan Your Content and Edit as Necessary – As you budget your time accordingly, make sure you also plan the content of your talk effectively. Make sure you have time for delivering your message, for Q&A. for breaks and for activities.

#3 — Rehearse Effectively – You do this by doing a “dress rehearsal”. Make your rehearsal as real as possible. Rehearse standing up, dressed up and in front of a live test audience if possible. This way, you get to gauge how much time your entire presentation will consume.

#4 — Start on Time – You do this by coming in early so that you’ll have enough time to set up your equipment and sort out your stuff.

#5 — Measure Your Progress and Adjust – You do this by having a copy of your time targets with you. For example at 8:00 you will start, then at 8:15 you’ll present your case study, at 8:30 you’ll do a group dynamic and so on and so forth. This way, you can adjust accordingly.